Two lobby groups criticised a plan by Woolworths to offer health checks to customers, although the plan drew interest from consumer advocates.

The retailer confirmed on Tuesday it has had nurses checking blood pressure and cholesterol across nine stores in NSW and Queensland since October. This trial will be reviewed before any decision on a full store roll-out is taken.

The plan upset the Australian ­Medical Association and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. The guild has long opposed any moves by supermarket retailers to encroach on its patch.In markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom, supermarkets are able to open pharmacies and sell prescription drugs, but in Australia that activity is restricted to registered pharmacists.

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The two groups are used to fighting each other but both oppose the plan.

AMA president Brian Owler, who represents GPs, said the healthcare ­system was “built on general practice and highly qualified GPs leading ­primary care teams”.

“There would be no access to patient history and . . . no privacy,” he said.

Associate Professor Owler said the checks could “run the risk of making people think they would not have to see their doctor”.

“It would be highly inappropriate to conduct health checks in a location that sold alcohol, cigarettes, sugary drinks, energy drinks, and high-fat foods; the things that contribute to ill health in the first place,” he said.

Guild president George ­Tambassis told the ABC it was ­“hypocritical” for a supermarket which profits from selling tobacco and alcohol products to claim to be interested in healthcare.

“At a time when many consumers are not only time poor but also face the prospect of rising out of pocket health costs, the provision of supermarket checks is certainly worth considering,” he said.

Mr Metherell said safety, privacy and the ability for follow-up consultations were the organisation’s main concerns. “Woolworths must also recognise that there is more to providing health checks than there is in selling frozen peas,” he said. “It must be prepared to take responsibility for ensuring effective follow-up when its customers are found to be suffering serious conditions.”

The Grattan Institute’s Dr Stephen Duckett said he saw the plan as a ­commercial response to the Coalition’s proposed $7 co-payment for GP visits.

“People might be thinking of using Woolworths as an alternate source of advice to a GP,” he said.

Mr Duckett said that was not ideal but if the advice provided by Woolworths was delivered by competent professionals, it was an avenue worth considering.

“It really depends on the professionalism of the people they employ, [and] what sorts of pressure they’re going to be under to promote particular items,” he said.

Dr Duckett called on Woolworths to undertake an independent evaluation of any health check program to determine its benefit.